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Trump administration to shutter LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline
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The Big Story
The Trump administration has given a crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth 30 days to shut down and stakeholders as well as lawmakers are speaking out against the move.
© The Associated Press
While the White House had signaled earlier this year that it would no longer fund the LGBTQ youth service, 'Press 3 option,' of the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline starting in 2026, it had said funding for the rest of this year would remain unchanged.
But the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced Tuesday it would 'no longer silo' the program.
'The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus included a Congressional directive for $29.7 million to fund the specialized service,' the agency said in a statement.
'Federal funding in FY24 for the Press 3 services increased to $33 million. As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services.'
The Health Department's annual budget 'does not, however, grant taxpayer money to a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by 'counselors' without consent or knowledge of their parents,' said Rachel Cauley, a spokesperson for the White House's Office of Management and Budget.
The Trevor Project, which responds to roughly half of 988 calls and texts from LGBTQ+ youth, said it had received a stop-work order from the Trump administration.
'This is devastating, to say the least. Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,' said Jaymes Black, the Trevor Project's CEO. 'The administration's decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.'
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) also spoke out against the move, saying on Wednesday, 'This is wrong,' adding that 'the 988 hotline has been a lifesaver.'
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